FORTHMADE is a pop-up store created by CCAD students; click above to watch the video.

Last semester, CCAD honors students created One, a one-day pop-up store on campus. This semester the students are at it again with FORTHMADE and they are partnering with Easton Town Center to bring the one-day store to the outdoor shopping center located in Columbus, OH.

The honors Developing Retail class is a project-based class led by adjunct faculty Marcia Tabler.

“It has been really interesting to watch the creative juices flow,” Tabler said. “There is so much satisfaction in seeing these students create something of their own from the ground up, and watching the natural ebb and flow of designers as they work as part of a team.”

The nine students handled everything from the marketing strategy, including the promotional photography and video, to the store design. Details such as branding the shopping bags, price tags, and even hangers were not overlooked.

The class sent a request campuswide for students to submit their work to be judged and possibly sold in the store. The response was overwhelming, which wasn’t surprising considering last semester’s store sold more than 70 percent of its inventory. Submissions ranged from clothing to jewelry to prints and everything in between. One thing that is certain is that the products available will all be CCAD-designed, handcrafted, and one-of-a-kind.

“Our ultimate goal is to have this project be self-funded,” Tabler said. “All the profits from this store will go to the next class’s retail store project, and hopefully this can become an ongoing tradition here at CCAD.”

Easton Town Center generously donated space for the store. The class will take advantage of the large theater that once housed Shadowbox Live.

“At Easton, we’re always looking to present new ideas,” said Beau Anderson, the executive vice president for asset performance of Steiner + Associates. “We’ve enjoyed a wonderful relationship with CCAD, and the pop-up shop seemed like a logical way to extend our partnership while offering our customers unique, locally designed apparel and accessories. This will be a shop of discovery, and we cannot wait to see what the students offer in this space and how they will approach the visual merchandising.”

FORTHMADE will be in business May 4, 1–9 p.m., at 160 Easton Town Center, Columbus, OH.

Colbert is from Westerville, OH, and attended Saint Francis De Sales High School; Fischer is from Lawrence, KS, and attended Lawrence High School; Harrison is from Alpharetta, GA, and attended Alpharetta High School; Hess is from Columbus, OH, and attended American School of Technology; Kendy is from Jakarta, Indonesia, and attended Jakarta International School; Laniosz is from Willowbrook, IL, and attended Hinsdale South High School; Nguyen is from Germantown, MD, and attended Mansfield High School; Smith is from Blacklick, OH, and attended Licking Heights High School; Swiler is from Maumee, OH, and attended Trinity High School; and Templeton is from Wadesboro, NC, and was home schooled.

The committee member with the shortest “alum” status is David E. Merz III, a 2011 Advertising & Graphic Design graduate now living in Chicago.

Even though Merz has only been away for a few months, he wants to see for himself if anything has changed on campus (besides the new students!) and he hopes to catch up with several professors to ask questions he has been wondering about since being “in the real world.”

“At Homecoming I’m most looking forward to seeing my friends from school. I’ve missed staying up late with my Mighty All-Nighter friends. I’ve been getting the word out about the event so I can see as many of them as possible during the short weekend,” Merz said

“It’ll be great to see my friends who have also graduated, but I’m excited to see those friends I left behind who are still burning the midnight oil at CCAD, especially those working in Design Group,” he said.

Merz said he received a few messages on the first day of the semester from friends who miss hanging out with him on the quad or at the Market, and he confesses to missing CCAD’s main dining facility. “Looking back, it was a great deal for getting food,” he said.

As an underclassman, Merz was involved with Student Government. He plans to check out what the new officers have in mind to enhance the college experience for current students.

Merz said he’s curious to see who the alumni award winner will be and what he will “have to do someday to be considered for such an award!”

“I wish I could be back for an entire week instead of just a couple of days. I miss Columbus and all the great people there. The people are the best!”

Stahler moved back to Columbus a few years ago, so he is no stranger to campus. “It’s exciting when it’s filled with alumni who have built this campus into a growing, progressive, smart, contemporary school with a still-strong foundation program,” he said.

Stahler commented on the changes to the annual gathering. “I look forward to the new fall Homecoming. Traditionally, the spring graduation on the heels of the annual fashion show makes for a busy campus and not much time to catch up with college friends.”

Facebook has brought Stahler closer to alumni, but he said “seeing someone in person and catching up with them is always a good time.”

When Tabler heard that CCAD was combining Homecoming and Family Weekend she decided it was time for a class reunion.

“Although it has (ha ha!) been only 37 years, not the big 40—the power of all this coming together felt right. So, the class of ’74 is plowing forward with the reunion as well as a few surprises!” she said.